Engraving-machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

B.s.MoLYNEUX. BNGRAVING MACHINE.

i No. 549,145.

. 1 1` E HHM pov 5 895 (No Model.) 3 sheets-sheen 2.

VB'.s;M0LY1\ILUX.

BNGRAVING MACHINE. No. y49146 Patented Nov.. 5,1895.

y2, e@ Y ill y v SQ/a1 ANDREW LGRAHAM. PHUTU'LH'NQWASMINGTONC,

(No Model.) U '3 Sheets-Sheet` 3.

B. S.VMO LYNBUX.

ENGRAVING MACHINE. No. 549,146.' Patented'Nov. 5, 1895. fwd

NQN BLRMMM. PKUTO-UTHO-WASNINGTUN. D C

UNITED vSTATES PATENT OEEicE.

BARTON S. MOLYNEUX, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO THE MOLYNEUX ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING COM- PANY, OF NEIVYORK.

ENGRAvlNc-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 549,146, dated November5, 1895. Application filed May 1, 1894. Serial No. 509,655. (N'mDdGl-,l

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BARTON S. MOLYNEUX, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin,State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDie- Cutting and Engraving Machines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,1o such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same. v

My invention relates to that class of machines in which a tracertraveling over a pattern controls the action of the burin, drill, orgraver simultaneously traveling over a blank of metal or other suitablematerial upon which the letter or design is to be engraved.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine which shall beentirely automatic in its action and which will cut or engrave thedesign or letter with the necessary accuracy and depth to produce thedies, punches, and type employed in matrix-making and typewritingmachines and in sinking the dies used intype-casting molds and machines.For this purpose the machine embodying my I invention in its generalconstruction comprises means for causing a tracer and a drill to travelin parallel lines back and forth over the entire surface of the patternand block or blank to be engraved, and to Yreverse this motion for anumber of times until the required depth of the engraving is reached.This means consists generally in a reciprocating carriage suitablyguided and having mounted thereon the pattern and the block, plate, orblank to be engraved, in combina tion with a transversely-movingcarriage actuated slowly with a step-by-step motion and carrying thetracer and the automatic drill or burin arranged over the pattern andblank, respectively.

The pattern may be made of an electrical conducting material, such asmetal, and its sunken parts may be filled with some suitablenon-conductor, such as enamel, and as the metallic point of the tracerpasses over the conducting or non-conducting portions of the design orpattern a circuit Ycontrolling and-forth motion of the carriage uponwhich the pattern and blank are mounted, and which for brevity I willterm the blank-carriage,7 the tracer and drill supporting carriage,which I will term, brieiy, the drillcarriage, is moved transversely avery slight distance by suitable step-by-step mechanism, such as a pawland ratchet, so as to cause the tracer and drill to describe linesparallel and directly adjoining the lines previously described.

The drill operates on both strokes ofthe blank-carriage, or, in otherwords, goes over the work twice before the lateral feed of thedrillcarriage takes place; but by simply providing means for breakingthe tracer-circuit the drill could be rendered inoperative during thereturn stroke of the blank-carriage, or provision could be readily madefor effecting the lateral feed of the drill-carriage at the end of eachstroke of the blank-carriage, in which event the drill could operate onboth strokes of the blanlccarriage Without doubling on the work.

The motion ofthe blank-carriage is reversed automatically by abelteshifter or other reversing mechanism actuated by some part of thesaid blank-carriage, and the transverse drill-carriage is reversed atthe limits of its travel by suitable reversing mechanism, preferably inthe shape of a shiftingand reversing pawl action on a doubleratchetwheel mounted on a screw-shaft engaging the drill-carriage andpreferably actuated by electrical contact mechanism. Thus it will beseen that the tracer and drill pass over the entire surface of thepattern and the blank in the parallel and adjoining lines in the mannerof a planing-machine, but so that the graver, which I make in the formof a revolv- IOO ing drill, will only cut or rout the material from theblank when the controlling-tracer passes over the conducting ornon-conducting or the elevated or depressed portions of the pattern, asthe case may be. This action is repeated, moreover, by reversing thetransverse drill-carriage as many times as desired until the desireddepth is reached in the engraving.

For the purpose of availing myself of an enlarged pattern in theproduction of dies of the usual size, for the sake of greater accuracy,I employ a pantograph, and in this case I arrange the pattern upon afixed bed outside the blank-carriage, and, dispensing with the tracer onthe drill-carriage, I provide the movable arm of the pantograph withsuch a tracer to move over the pattern and control the action. ot thedrill, which now produces a reduced engraving on the blank.

Instead of one blank or block or line of blanks being engraved a numberof such blanks or lines of blanks may be engraved at the same time.

In the drawings accompanying this speciication I have shown anengraving-machine illustrating my invention, in which, like lettersreferring to like parts- Figure l represents a plan and Fig. 2 atransverse vertical section of the machine. Figs. 3 and 3 represent,respectively, a front elevation and a transverse vertical section online a, Fig. 3, of the drill and its controlling mechanism. Fig. 4 is anelevation of pawlshiiting device. Figs. 5, 6, 7, and S are detail views,and Fig. 9 is a plan of the engraving-machine used in connection with apantograph and enlarged pattern.

Upon a suitable frame A is mounted a carriage B, adapted to carry theblocks or blanks to be engraved, and in many cases also the pattern,which carriage is adapted to slide back and forth on suitable guides,preferably in the form of rods a, passing through ears b in the carriageand secured to the frame A by screws or bolts a', passing through theframe or table A into the ends of the said rods.

I prefer to mount the carriage B so as to be flush with the table A byplacing `the same in a recess a2 of the same, as shown best in Fig. 2,although this arrangement can be modified. Upon this carriage B aresecured the blanks to be engraved, and in many cases also the patternfrom which the engraving operation is controlled. The means for mountingthese blanks and patterns in the present instance consists in grooves orslots b 112 parallel to the rods` a., and in which one or a series ofblanks and one or a series of patterns may be lodged and securely heldin place by set-screws b3. These slots may be of such length that theentire set of dies for a matrix-making or type-writing machine may beengraved at once by placing in the slot b2 a set of such dies orpatterns for such dies and a corresponding number of blanks in the slotb.

The carriage B, which I term the blankcarriage, receives a reciprocatingmotion by means to be hereinafter described.

Above the blank-carriage B is arranged a transverse carriage C, adaptedto slide transversely of the carriage B upon ways or guiderods c,arranged transversely of and similar to the guide-rods a., or any othermeans for transversely guiding the transverse carriage C, which I termthe drill-carriage, may be employed. The motion of the drill-carriage Cis distinguished from that of the blankcarriage B in being step by stepand exceedingly small in comparison therewith. This drill-carriagecarries the tracer D and the graver or drill mechanism E, adapted totravel over the patterns and blanks held in the slots b2 and b',respectively, and is adapted to move slightly, one step at eachto-and-fro motion of the blank-carriage B, and to be reversed at the endof its movement.

The motions of my engraving-machine may be resolved into, irst, theto-and-:Iro movement of the blank-carriage B; second, the step-by-stepmotion of the drill-carriage C; third, the reversal of thedrill-carriage C, and, fourth, the drill motion. Iwill now describethese in order named.

First. The to-anCZ-fro motion of the blankcarragc-Motion is imparted tothe blankcarriage B by a pinion f, engaging with the rack-teeth b4, (seeFigs. 1, 2, and 7,) preferably upon the under side of the carriage I3.Said pinion f is keyed to a shaft F, upon one of whose extremities aremounted two fixed pulleys f f2 and an intermediate loose pulley j'3. Twobelts f4 and f5, one straight and the other crossed, run from thesepulleys through the loops or eyes (133 of the belt-sitter .Gr, andthence to the pulley on the powersha-ft, and are so arranged that onebelt will always be on the loose pulley, and hence inoperative. Thebelt-shifter G consists oi a three-armed lever pivoted at g, of whosearms g and g2 are provided with inclines or wipers g11 and Q22, soarranged that one ol' them is in the path of the carriage when the otherhas been forced out of said path. The third arm g3 is provided with theeyes or loops g33 above noted. In order to facilitate the act of tiltingthe belt-shifter G, the carriage B is provided with theantifriction-rollers b5, mounted upon lugs bf on the carriage. Theselugs may be fixed or, preferably, as shown, adjustable with respect toeach other, so as to decrease or increase the intervalsfbetween thereversing motions of the belt-shifter, and hence to decrease or increasethe stroke of the blankcarriage B. 'Ihe lugs b are preferably madeadjustable by providing them with slotted arms 177, whose slots areengaged by the setscrews ba, which permit of the ready adjustment of thelugs and of tightly clamping them in place in their various positions ofadjustment.

The operation of these parts is as follows: Assuming the blank-carriageBto occupy the IOO IIO

IIS

position indicated in Fig. l and as moving in the direction indicated bythe arrow 1, the motion of the power-shaft is then imparted to thecarriage by the straight belt f4 through fixed pulley f, shaft F,pinion` f, and rackteeth h4. When the carriage arrives at the end of itsstroke, however, the one roller b5 rides over the wiper g11 on arm g/ ofbeltsliifter G and tilts the said belt-shifter, thereby throwing theother wiper Q22 into the path of the carriage B and by the arm g3shifting the belts, so that the straight belt f4 is now on the loosepulley f3 and the crossed belt f5 is shifted onto the fixed pulley f2.The shaft F is hence revolved in the opposite direction and the strokeof the blank-carriage reversed. At the end of this return Stoke theother roller b5 impinges against the' second wiper again takes place,and so on until the engraving operation is completed. By moving the lugsb close together a large stroke is imparted to the machine, and the sameis adapted to engrave a long line of dies or punches-as, for example, anentire set of dies for a matrixmaking machine. By placing them farapart, on the other hand, short and quick strokes may be produced-as,for example, in engraving but a single die or punch.

Second. T he Siep-by-step 'mot/on of the drillcdrrz'age.-At every returnstroke of the blank-carriage B the traverse drill-carriage C, as alreadyexplained, is fed forward across the carriage B a space equal to thewidth of the path traversed by the tracer and drill in their movementalong the pattern-blanks, so that the next return stroke will carry thesaid tracer and drill over paths parallel and contiguous to the formerpaths. This step-bystep motion is prefen bly effected by the followingmeans: To the drill-carriage C is secured a screw-rod c, in the presentinstance extending rearwardly of the saine, and upon the said screw-rodis threaded the ratchetwheel H, while a lever H, carrying three doubleshifting-pawls 7l', is loosely mounted on the screw-rod. The pawl-leverand ratchet are in the present instance held against longitudinalmovement by the casing H2, con- .sisting of the bracket h2 and guard h3,se-

cured thereto. v The compound pawl h consists of three pawls or dogs ofdifferent lengths, so that one of them will be sure to engage theratchet-wheel at the required time and turn the same, and hence move thedrillcarriage the necessary distance. This pawland-ratchet device isoperated at every stroke of the blank-carriage, preferably by providingthe same with the striker-pieces blo, adjustably mounted thereon by slotand setscrew connection Z912 cl3, which strikers are arranged to operateat each stroke pawl-andratchet-actuating devices, which consist,essentially, of a lever h4 at each end of the table A, pivoted at h5 andhaving abumper-lug h6,

and of the pawl-impelling rod hl, suitably guided in the table A, asshown, and connected to the upper end of the pawl-lever H. Thesepawl-impelling rods k7 preferably consist of a continuous rod connectingthe two levers h4, the connection being by pin 71.8 and slot hg, asshown in Fig. l. The operation of these parts is obvious. At the end ofeach stroke ofV the blank-carriage B one of the strikers Z910 strikesagainst the contact-lug h on one of the levers h4, and, forcing one ofthe arms k7 forward, rocks the pawl-lever H', thereby causing the pawlsor dogs h' to travel over the ratchet H at the forward stroke ofcarriage B and to turn said ratchet at its return stroke. This actionmay be adjusted to the various strokes of which the blankcarriage iscapable by simply releasing the set-screws 513 and moving thecontact-pieces outward or inward and then tightening the set-screws.

Third. The reversal of the drill-carriage.- It will be noted that thecompound pawl h consists of double pawls having dogs extending to bothsides of their pivots, so as to adapt them to be shifted or tilted toact in opposite directions on the teeth h of the double'ratchetwheel H,which are formed, as shown, to be acted on in both directions. The saidpawl is shifted by the following mechanism: The drill-carriage isprovided with a pin or stud c2, which plays between two contacts t,adjustable by set-screws i2 on a rod 3, forminga part of acircuit-breaker or switch I, adapted to open and close the circuit l bymaking and breaking contact with the contact-piece it. The circuit Ipasses by wire from the pivotal point it of the switchl to the batteryf5 or other source of electricity, thence to the electromagnet l2, andthence by wire to the contact-piece 4. A pawl-shifting lever I3 ispivoted at 5t and provided at one end with the armature t6, located overthe electromagnet, and at the other wit-h pawl-supporting arm i7, havingin the present instance the prongs t8, bearing under the three dogs ofthe shifting-pawl h to one side of the pivot. These parts operate asfollows: The cont-acts c are so adjusted on the rod 3 as to leave aspace between them somewhat larger than the width of the slots b', so asto permit the drill-carriage to traverse the entire width of thepatterns and blanks before the stud c2 strikes one or the other of thesaid contacts. Assuming the circuit I to be open and the drill-carriageto travel in the direction of the arrow, then immediately after the saidcarriage arrives at the end of its stroke and the drill E and tracer Dhave cleared the blanks andpatter'ns, respectively, the pin c2 strikesagainst the inner contact t', and, closing the switch I, closes thecircuit through the electromagnet I2, whereby the armature t is drawndown, tilting the lever I3 and the shifting-pawl h on lever H, therebycausing the opposite dogs on the same to engage the ratchet to turn thesame in the IOO IIO

opposite direction and reverse the stroke of the drill-carriage in thefurther operation of the machine. At the end of this reverse stroke thestud c2 strikes the opposite contact, and, opening the circuit,causesthe first stroke of the drill-carriage to be repeated. Thisreciprocation is repeated until the blanks have been engraved to therequired depth. By adjusting the contacts z" they may be adapted tovarious Widths of patterns and blanks.

Fourth. The drill motion- The tracer D, as shown best in Fig. 5,consists of a keeper d, of non-conducting material, extending downthrough the drill-carriage, and through which a wire d', of platinum orother suitable conducting material, passes centrally and into contactwith the elevated parts of the pattern. This tracing-wire d is in thecircuit D', which passes thence to an electromagnet E', forming part ofthe drill-operating mechanism E, andv thence through the battery orother source of electricity d2 to the pattern. Referring moreparticularly to Figs. 3 and 3, it will be noted that the drill in thepresent instance consists of a hollow slidin sleeve c or other supportfor an armature c, which parts are held from turning by dowel-pins c1,in which supporting sleeve c is guided the revolving drill-chuck c2,preferably passing centrally therethrough, which is longitudinallymovable therein and has fixed thereto, above the sleeve c', a pulleye222, to which a rapidly-revolvin g motion is imparted by the belt e3,passing thence to some source of power. A small drill e* passescentrally through the chuck e2 and is secured in position by the clampscrew or nut c5. The sleeve c is secured to an armature c, located belowthe clectromagnet E', which is supported by the bracket-yoke e7. lVhenthe circuit D is open, the armature, and with it the drill, drops ontothe blank to be engraved, which tendency may be aided by a spring e8,placed around the sleeve c and between the armature and the bracket c?.The operation of' this part of the machine is clear from the foregoing.As the carriage B passes under the drill-carriage the tracer passesalternately in contact with the elevated portions and the depressions orthe conducting or nonn conducting portions of the patterns. In passingover the conducting or elevated portions the circuit D is closed and themagnet E', being energized, holds the revolving drill eL away from theblank to be engraved. Vhen, however, the tracer passes over thedepressions or the non-conducting portions of the pattern, the circuitis broken and permits the drill to drop into contact with the blanks andto rout or cut a groove coincident with the depressed or non-conductingportion of the pattern traveled over by the tracer.

It is the intention with this machine to cut dies, punches, or type withvertical walls; but it is evident that they may be cut with bevelededges by simply tapering the end of the drill,`as shown in Fig. 6, whichshows a pensed with. shown in Fig. 9 as mounted on a fixed bed view onan `enlarged scale of such a drill. Generally it is preferred to use adrill so small in diameter as to be hardly perceptible to the naked eye.

By arranging the armature e above the electromagnet the operation of thedrill may be reversedthat is to say, the drill will engrave or cut thebody of the letter or design and leave the background elevated. Such anarrangement would be employed in producing matrices from given types orpatterns.

lt will be observed that the circuit D through magnet E is distinct andseparate from the circuit I for obvious reasons.

Engraving ou a reduced scala-When for the sake of accuracy andexpeditiousness it `is desired to engrave the dies, punches, or i typeon a reduced scale from an enlarged pattern, a pantograph is used inconnection with my apparatus, as shown in Fig. 9, the tracer D on thedrill-carriage being in that case dis- The enlarged pattern M is M',secured to the table in any suitable or desired manner, preferably so asto be removed 4therefrom when the pantograph is not employed. Thepantograph P is secured to the machine as shown-that is to say, theinner joint p is secured to the blank carriage B by a thumb-screw Z120,while the fixed arm p is by a similar thumb-screw 192 secured to thelever P, pivoted to the table A at p3 and eni gaging a pin c2@ on thedrill-carriage with the forked end p4. The free arm p5 of the pantographis provided with the tracer 19, which takes the place of the tracer D.As in the arrangement first described, a circuit D runs from the tracerp6 to the electromagnet E of the drill mechanism, and thence through thebattery to the pattern M. The operation of this device is as follows: Asthe blankcarriage B passes under the drill the tracer p6 is caused totravel in a parallel but propor tionately longer line over the patternand the nonconducting or depressed portions of the patterns, through theelectrical drill-controlling device, serve to cut grooves or lines int-othe blanks which are smaller but in exact proportion to thecorresponding portion of the pattern traveled over by the saidcontrollin g-tracer. The tracer p6 is shifted transversely and by awidth proportionate to the ratio to which the pantograph is adjusted atevery transverse movement of the drill-carriage through the mechanism ofthe pivoted lever p engaging the said drill-carriage. It will thus beseen that, as in the arrangement first described, every part of thepattern and the blanks is traveled over by the tracer p and the drill E,only in the present instance the non-conducting or intaglio portions ofthe pattern and the portions of the blanks engraved are not equal butbear a fixed ratio to each other. As in the first arrangement, the

armature of the drill controlling the magnet E may be so located as toreversethe action IOO IIO

of the machine-tl e., to produce a matriX or intaglio design from theelevated or conducting portion of the pattern.

Having regard to the drill action, the fact that the armature c6 is onthe sleeve e', in which the drill-chuck c2 is guided, with theelectromagnets E adjacent to said sleeve, is an important feature of theconstruction for controlling the longitudinal `motion of the drill,inasmuch as thereby the forces applied to effect the in-and-out motionsof the drill are rendered direct, instantaneous, and true.

It should be noted that all that is required from the pattern and traceris the control of the circuitthrough the drill-magnets E. It is notnecessary that the pattern or patternblock should itself be in thecircuit. The contacts might be otherwise provided for and bemechanically controlled from the pattern and the tracer.

lVhile I consider the machine hereinbefore described the best embodimentof my invention, it is manifest that the same may be greatly modified inmany particulars without departing from the spirit of my invention. I donot, therefore, desire to be limited to the construction and arrangementherein shown and described.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is as follows:

l. In an engraving machine, the combination with a reciprocatingcarriage, provided with a striker, and a revolving shaft for actuatingthe same having two fixed and an intermediate loose pulley mountedthereon, of a pivoted belt-shifting lever having two arms, provided withwipers in the path of said striker and a third arm provided with eyes, astraight and a crossed belt passing from the pulleys through the eyes ofthe third arm to a power shaft, substantially as set forth.

2. In an engraving machine, acarriage provided with a screw-rod, incombination with a double ratchet-wheel and a pawl-lever provided with`a double tilting pawl, and a pawl shifting device for reversing theaction of said double pawl, controllable by, and operative at the limitsof the movement of said drill carriage, substantially as described.

3. In an engraving machine, a drill-carriage provided with a screw-rodin combination with a double ratchet-wheel threaded on the screwrod, apawl-lever provided with a double tilting pawl, a pawl shifting-leverprovided with an armature, an electro-magnet and means for making andbreaking the circuit of the electro magnet at each stroke of thedrill-carriage, substantially as set forth.

4. In an engraving machine, a drill-carriage provided with a screw-rodin combination with a double ratchet threaded thereon, a pawl leverprovided with a double tilting pawl, a pawl shifting lever provided withan armature, an electro-magnet and a switch for closing and breaking thecircuit of the electromagnet at each stroke of the drill-carriage,substantially as set forth.

5. In an engraving machine, a drill-carriage provided with a screw-rodand a contact-stud in combination with a double ratchet threadedthereon, a pawl-lever provided with a double tilting pawl, a pawlshifting lever provided with an armature, an electro-magnet, a switchfor closing and breaking the circuit and a rod, as 113, provided withcontacts on both sides of the contact stud on the drill carriage,substantially as set forth.

6. In an engraving machine, an electromagnet comprised in a circuitpassing through a tracer and pattern in combination with a sleeveprovided with an armature, a drill chuck passing through the said sleeveand provided with a pulley for imparting rotary motion to the drill,substantially as set forth.

7.' In an engraving machine, an electromagnet comprised in a circuitpassing through a tracer and a pattern in combination with a sleeveprovided with an armature, a drill chuck passing through said sleeve andprovided with a pulley and a drill wire secured in the drill chuck,substantially as set forth.

8. In an engraving machine, a reciprocating blank-carriage, a fixed bedprovided with a pattern and drill-carriage in combination with apantograph having a tracer to travel over the pattern and secured at onejoint to the blank-carriage and a pivoted lever, as p', engaging thedrill-carriage with one arm and secured with its other arm to the fixedarm of the pantograph, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BARTON S. MOLYNEUX.

Witnesses:

JAS. F. WILLIAMsoN, FRANK D. MERCHANT.

IOO

